Friday, December 18, 2015

The Lemonade Detox Diet – A Simple Recipe For Weight Loss

The Lemon Diet, also known as the master cleanse, is
a diet resulting in rapid weight loss over a period of several days to
about a week. Lemons being rich in antioxidants and vitamins, helps to
detox the body. Thus, it is very important to introduce citrus fruits
like lemon, grapefruit, oranges and kiwi in your daily diet.

The
lemon detox diet was popularized by singer Beyonce Knowles who
announced at the Oprah Winfrey Show that she lived on a lemon diet with
cayenne pepper and maple syrup for 15 days and lost 20 pounds (9 kgs) in
two weeks.

Nevertheless, the lemonade diet has been around for 50
years. Originally developed by Stanley Burroughs, this is designed to
cleanse your body of toxins, the major benefit being rapid weight loss.
The main reason for this weight loss
is that this diet limits your caloric intake by a tremendous amount.
This dramatic cut in calories results in a loss of considerable amount
of weight in a very short period of time. This diet can be resorted to
by someone who has to attend a social function in a couple of weeks and
need to lose a lot of weight to look their best for the event.

How to follow the lemon diet?

Things needed:

Spring water

Grade B maple syrup

Freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cayenne pepper sea salt

Instructions:

1.
Lemon diet should be followed on a clear schedule. This diet is not
suitable for a vacation or during a hectic period. Thus it should be
undertaken in a relaxed manner, preferably at home or close to home.

2.
Mix 12-14 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoons of
cayenne pepper and 12-14 tablespoons of maple syrup in 2 litres of
water. This mixture is enough to last for the whole day.

3. Keep
sipping small amounts of this mixture during the day whenever you feel
hunger pangs. The mixture can be followed with plain water, if
necessary.

4. Make a salt water flush by mixing 1 tablespoon sea salt in 1 litre
of water and drink it all at once. It might seem difficult but it
yields better results. The major reason for following this diet at home
is because within an hour of drinking the salt water flush, one will
experience a bowel movement lasting for about 30 to 60 minutes. It is
more preferable to prepare the salt water flush in the evening.

5. This diet should be followed for 3 to10 days by drinking the same amount of lemon mixture and salt water flush each day.

Food Combination with the Lemon Diet

While
following this diet, no solid food is allowed. It calls for 6 or more
servings of the specialized lemonade mixture everyday. In addition to
this, the salt water flush helps to cleanse the body. Different people
incorporate this diet for varying amounts of time, mostly lasting for 2
days. Combining food throughout the entire process would, therefore,
defeat its main purpose. However, food can be combined in the beginning
and at the end of the lemon diet to ease your body into and off the
diet.

Things needed:

Fruits

Vegetables

Orange juice

Grade B syrup,

Lemon juice

Cayenne pepper

Unrefined sea salt

Non processed foods

Instructions:

1.
Only fruits and vegetables should be consumed on the first day of the
diet to ease your body into what it will be going through during the
course of diet. The fruits and vegetables should, preferably, be raw.

2.
Drink 3 litres of orange juice with 2 tablespoons of grade B maple
syrup in it during the second day. Decide the period of detox. Most
people detox for 2 days during which they can only consume 2 litres of
lemonade per day when they feel hunger pains.

3.
Drink a mixture of 3 litres of orange juice and 2 tablespoons of grade B
maple syrup during the first day after you have finished detoxing.

4. Fruits and vegetables (preferably raw) should be consumed on the second day after completion of detox.

5.
Fruits, vegetables and non- processed foods can be eaten during the
third day after stopping of detox. This should be followed by grains
such as brown rice and oats to ease you back into your regular diet.

Points to be kept in mind

Lemon diet is
basically a detoxification diet, not a weight loss plan. Therefore, one
is likely to regain at least half of the weight lost in the course of
diet once the diet is over.

It is absolutely essential to wean yourself off of caffeine before beginning the diet to avoid unpleasant withdrawal effects.

This
diet should not be followed for a period of more than 2 weeks (10
days being the maximum). In case of health issues, consult the doctor
before following the diet.

Benefits Of Lemonade Diet:

1. The benefit of this diet is often explained in the form of rapid weight loss.
To put it in a better way, this program enables the body to regain its
balance of elements and maintain its optimum weight. Those who are not
over weight lose between 2-3 kgs and those who are underweight
re-establish the balance of the body’s metabolism. The process would
have taken much longer if the body had to burn off all the excess fat.

2.
The loss of weight is only a secondary effect, the principal effect
being detoxification of the organs of the body. Moreover, the body gets
rid of fat deposits. It is in the course of this purification that the
skin and hair get embellished.

3. Detoxification will allegedly
rid the body of warts, arthritis, asthma, stomach troubles etc. Besides,
lemon juice and cayenne pepper will flush out excess fat from your body
leading to rapid weight loss during the diet and cleanse the lymphatic
system, of toxins. The maple syrup contains all the nutrients your body
needs to function during this time.

Side effects of Lemon Diet:

As
it is a master cleanse, the lemon diet will release toxins into your
body causing symptoms like headaches, dizziness, nausea or a general
feeling of being tired and possibly other symptoms. The magnitude and
occurrence of these symptoms depend on how many toxins you have in your
body.

To conclude, just like any other diet, in case of a lemon
diet also, it is appropriate to consult your physician before starting
it.